FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Okay, it's got to be here somewhere." Tails wondered to himself, with the Miles Electric in hand while treading through the snowy landscape of Snow Valley. He didn't really mind the cold as he was wearing a scarf and a pair of goggles, but the weather in the region was pretty bad, bad enough that he had to leave the Tornado behind. He really wished he could go back home and out of the cold but he recalled why he was out here in the first place.

Lately, people have begun disappearing for the past few weeks. At first, it started with just a single person going missing one at a time, but then it escalated into groups of people disappearing at once until recently, an entire village's population seemingly vanished overnight!

Theorizing that Eggman might be behind these disappearances, Sonic & Tails started investigating, until they managed to catch a group of Badniks attempting to abduct some beachgoers at Green Reef, which the pair managed to rescue and fend off robots, but not before Tails planted a tracker on one of them.

Their original plan was for Sonic and Tails to follow the tracker to where Eggman was keeping the missing people and rescue them, but Sonic was careless during the fight earlier and got himself shot in the leg. Thankfully, he wasn't seriously injured, but it did leave him out of commission for a while, much to his irritation.

Knowing that it was only a matter of time before Eggman does something terrible to the missing people, Tails offered to follow the tracker alone. Sonic was a little hesitant at first about letting his surrogate little brother go after Eggman by himself, but he decided to put his faith in him.

And that brings Tails to now, wandering aimlessly in the middle of nowhere, with a nasty storm not only tampering with the tracker's signal but also threatening to turn him into a foxcicle.

"I really need to get out of this storm!" Tails thought to himself, wrapping his two tails around his body to keep himself warm. "There's got to be some form of shelter around-Ah! There!"

Tails could barely make out a cave opening in the blizzard and frantically rushed towards the cave's direction. He entered the cave and took his goggles off his eyes to see again since the snow covered the lenses. "Well, at least I'm out of the blizzard now." Tails thought as he removed the snow from the lenses of his goggles. Tails gazed back at the cave entrance, the snowstorm continuing to rage before he sighed and sat against the cave wall. "Sorry, Sonic. I really thought I could do this on my own."

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a noise from the Miles Electric. He picked it up and was very surprised at what it was showing him. "Wait, how am I getting a signal in here?!" Tails questioned. "That should be impossible in these weather conditions! Unless..." Tails' expression turned from confusion into excitement. "I actually found Eggman's secret base!" he exclaimed while he jumped joyfully, before recomposing himself. He couldn't believe that he actually, albeit briefly, forgot that the base was most likely swarming with Eggman's robots. That was very dangerous, not to mention a bit embarrassing.

Tails took the Miles Electric and moved around the cave, hoping to find the entrance to the base. The signal was at its strongest when he pointed the device toward the ground. "Okay, so I found the entrance. Now I need to figure out how to get in." Tails thought. He wandered around the cave again, this time, staying close to the spot where he detected the base's entrance. Eventually, he noticed something out of the ordinary. One of the ice rocks looked a little different than the others, as it looked like it was a paler hue of blue. Almost like it was made of metal.

Tails inspected the metal-looking rock and found a small button hidden in one of the cracks and pressed it. The rock then opened a slot on the side to reveal a keypad. "Okay, looks like I need a 3-digit code. Well, obviously it can't be 123." Tails thought to himself but decided to put down the combination he was thinking about, just for the heck of it. Predictably, it was incorrect and nothing happened. "Yeah, just as I thought. Egghead's too smart for obvious codes."

Tails needed a moment to think. The code has to be something that Eggman can remember, but not something a child could come up with. "Wait, what if... no, it can't possibly be that. Then again, this IS Eggman, so..." Tails shrugged and inputted the code he figured might be correct.

3-6-6.

The ground shook and a circular door revealed itself on the ground, slowly opening to reveal a metallic passage downwards. Once the door fully opened, a circular platform rose up from the hole, reaching just where the surface is. Tails chuckled in victory while shaking his head as he thought "Seriously? Making the three numbers look like the word "Egg"? I don't know whether to compliment Eggman for creativity or make fun of him for making the password one-half of his name. A 300 IQ genius he may be, but that ego of his does make him predictable." Tails stepped on the platform, which began to descend into the now-revealed base.

---

Inside the base, a lone Egg Pawn was guarding the elevator that leads to the entrance, making sure no intruders could get in. The robot then heard a noise coming from the elevator door, so it turned around and noticed that the elevator was coming down. Looks like someone found the base's secret entrance. The Egg Pawn a few feet walked away from the door and pointed its blaster at it, ready to apprehend or, if necessary, destroy the intruder.

The elevator door opened to reveal... nothing. The elevator was completely empty, save for some snow from the surface. The Egg Pawn walked inside the elevator to investigate. Maybe it was a malfunction? It looked around the chamber but still found nothing. Now, if it had looked up, it would have noticed a certain fox hovering in the air with his spinning two tails.

Tails stopped spinning his tails and dropped down towards the Egg Pawn's head, denting it a bit. Tails landed on the floor and, acting quickly, spin-dashed into the robot while it was disoriented, destroying it.

"Alright, I made it in! Now to find those people and, if I'm lucky, put a stop to whatever Eggman's plotting!" Tails thought to himself as he made his way through the halls of the secret base, taking care not to be seen by the patrolling Badniks and Egg Pawns. Eventually, He stumbled across a significantly large door that was labeled "Observation Deck".

"Well, this looks important." Tails thought. "Maybe I could see what Eggman's doing from there." He opened the door and was surprised to find that it was surprisingly empty. He'd think that an observation deck would have guards to, well, observe from. Oh well, he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he entered through the door, closing it from behind to make sure the guards wouldn't get suspicious.

Tails looked around the observation deck and found that it was fairly normal. There are some machines and monitors littered about, with a large glass window separating the deck from a larger room. However, it was the larger room behind the glass that caught his attention.

Tails saw rows upon rows of egg-shaped pods, all organized in a neat, orderly fashion, but what he saw next shocked him greatly. He saw robots dragging people through the large chamber, shoving them in any open egg pod, which closed on them. He also saw some other pods opening up to reveal more people coming out, now decked in form-fitting Eggman-themed bodysuits that covered them from neck to toe, where they stiffly walked away from their respective pods.

"Oh no..." Tails looked on in horror. "The missing people... he's brainwashing them?!" He stepped away from the glass, his mind overwhelmed with panic. "This is bad! There's no way I'll be able to rescue these people on my own! I need to call for backup! Hopefully, the storm's died down enough for me to send a message and my location back to Sonic and the others." Tails quickly calmed down and was about to turn towards the door when-

-ZAP!-

"AGH!"

Tails collapsed to the ground, having been shot in the back by a laser beam. "This is EG-017. I have apprehended an intruder." He heard his attacker say, most likely reporting to his superior. Tails weakly turned his head toward the attacker and saw that he was a greenish-blue cat wearing the same bodysuit as most of the others in the pod room. Tails also notice that the cat's eyes were bright red, yet they do not reflect any form of light and displayed no emotion whatsoever. He realized that this person is also brainwashed, just like the ones back in the larger room below.

"Yes, sir. The intruder is a young fox with yellowish-orange fur and two large tails." The brainwashed cat said to a communicator in his ear. "...Of course, sir. I will bring him to you." Tails tried to get up as the cat approached him, but was then shot by another laser from a ray gun the cat was carrying, rendering him unconscious.

---

"...Ngh."

Tails was slowly regaining consciousness, trying to remember what happened. "W-where..."

"Ah, rise and shine, Tails."

Tails' eyes opened wide as he suddenly realized what happened earlier. He frantically looked around the room he was in, which looked like a fusion between an office and a throne room, similar to what he had seen before back on the first Egg Carrier. He tried to move his arms but found himself unable to as he fell onto the floor. He looked at his body and saw a large metal ring wrapped around both his body and his arms. He also saw that even his tails were bound by another metal ring.

"Well, Tails, I'm quite glad you could join me today." A voice echoed in the chamber. Tails searched frantically around the room until his eyes lay on a white chair hovering a few feet above the ground, which currently seated a person VERY familiar to the young fox. "Eggman." he growled.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to come here on your own. Usually, you're not that far behind that infernal hedgehog, Sonic. Eggman said, smugly smirking at his latest prisoner. "Such a shame he's not with you. I was hoping to capture him as well."

"Why? So you can turn him into a brainwashed slave?!" Tails yelled defiantly, but really, he was trying to hide just how terrified he was. "I saw what you did to those people back in that room! You won't get away with this, Eggman!"

"Oh, I believe I most certainly will." Eggman replied. "You see, unlike with negative Hyper-go-on energy, which seems to only allow me to control people's minds for as long as they are exposed to it, my new Mind Hatcher Pods™ are capable of removing a subject's free will in just a few hours. And the best part? They don't need some mystical or extraterrestrial power source for them! Just some good old-fashioned hypnosis and re-education. It even comes with a free uniform. Just look how happy that guy is!" He gestured toward the cat drone 017, who was apparently present as well.

The drone in question just gave them a blank look. As Tails looked at the drone, he felt nothing but pity for him. "So, what are you going to do now, "Master Eggman"? Turn me into another one of your drones?" he asked sarcastically, although deep down, he already knew the answer.

Eggman got up from his chair and began approaching his prisoner, his mouth now forming into a sinister grin. "Okay, first off, there's no need for that kind of sarcasm, young man! Seriously, you have been hanging around Sonic too much. And second, that's the idea!" Eggman replied, now starting to circle around Tails. "You know, Tails, you have been quite a thorn in my side. Although not quite as bad as Sonic, but close enough, as I'm sure you have already proven back at Station Square and on the Ark. I think it's time we change that." Eggman stopped right in front of Tails and leaned right toward his face. "And besides... I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees his best friend now working for his greatest enemy. Ooh, I can only imagine how betrayed he would feel!"

Eggman stepped back from Tails and returned to his seat. "EG-017, since you have the honor of capturing one of my greatest enemies, kindly escort him to the Mind Hatcher Pods™." He ordered the drone. "I believe it's time we get him... properly inducted into our Empire."

"At once, Master Eggman." 017 replied as he saluted. He approached Tails and grabbed the ring binding him, dragging him out of Eggman's chamber. "Hey! Let me go!" Tails shouted, which unfortunately fell on deaf ears. He kept struggling to try and get out of the binds, but they were sealed tight. He was definitely not getting out of these.

"Oh, and Tails?" Eggman shouted, causing 017 to stop walking. "The next time we meet, I expect you to be on your best behavior. Of course, you will be anyway! OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" 017 resumed dragging Tails toward the pods as Eggman's laugh echoed in the chamber.

---

After a few minutes, 017 and Tails finally arrived back at the Mind Hatcher Pod™ room. Once there, Tails got a closer look at the pods™. For one, they are simple in design, egg-shaped, white in coloration, and have Eggman's logo plastered on the top half of the pods™. 017 continued escorting the unwilling prisoner down the rows of pods until they arrived at an open pod™.

"I am going to remove your restraints, do not try to escape." 017 robotically told Tails, as he pulled out a small, key-like object. As 017 released the ring restraint on his tails, Tails grimaced. "Okay, now's my chance. Once the ring around my body's unlocked, I'll make a run for it." He thought as he felt like he could finally move his tails freely again.

When 017 moved on to unlock the ring that kept his arms bound to his body, Tails was prepared to make a run for it. However, once the restraint was released, 017 immediately drew his blaster and electrocuted Tails, causing him to fall to the ground. 017 picked Tails up by the arm and pushed him into the chair inside the pod™. "I have other assignments that require my immediate attention." 017 said as the pod™ began to close. "Please remain seated during the conversion process." As 017 started to walk away, Tails managed to regain his senses and attempted to get up quickly, but metallic straps appeared from the chair's armrests and bottom half, restraining Tails' arms and legs. The chair ever restrained his tails behind him.

"HEY! LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Tails yelled as he tried to pull his limbs from the restraints, but to no avail. "Okay, Tails. You got out of the roboticizer before, you could definitely figure out a way out of this." Tails thought to himself. "Just keep a calm mind and focus on finding any potential flaw this pod™ might have." Tails took the time to look around and found that the pod™ 's interior size is big enough for one person to sit in, with the walls covered in blank screens, no doubt to show either propaganda or hypnotic spirals.

Before Tails could do anything, the screens lit up, forcing him to close his eyes briefly. "Subject detected. Beginning conversion protocol." A robotic voice announced. "Removing subject's clothing." Suddenly, a series of green lasers were fired from some of the gaps between the screens at Tails, and, although it didn't harm him, it did disintegrate his gloves, socks, shoes, and even his scarf and goggles, leaving him completely naked.

"Wha... MY CLOTHES!" he yelped, suddenly feeling a bit chilly and very embarrassed. He would have wrapped his two tails around his body in an effort to cover himself up, but said tails were still restrained by the chair. "Subject's clothing has been removed." The robotic voice spoke again. "Commencing Phase 1: Re-Education."

The screens then showed Eggman's logo, which is black and overlaid on a red background. "Hello, and welcome to the Eggman Empire, your new home." Another robotic voice announced, only this one sounded feminine. "We are so glad that you have decided to join and serve under the great Dr. Eggman. Now just sit back and relax while we take a quick look at your memories."

"Wait... my memories?" Tails began to question, but he didn't have time to ponder what the voice meant as a small red beam of light shot out from above Tails, striking him on the forehead and projecting Eggman's logo on it. After a few seconds, the screens changed from Eggman's logo to scenes showing Tails fighting Eggman's robots, with some even showing him fighting against Eggman himself. "Oh dear, it seems that you have caused Master Eggman a lot of trouble in the past." The female voice stated in a worried tone. "Don't worry, we can help rid you of that pesky free will you have so that you can focus on making it up to Master Eggman."

The red beam glowed brighter and Tails suddenly felt like he was having a headache, while the screens changed images again, this time into red and black hypnotic patterns. "W-what?! No!" Tails cried, struggling to break out of the chair as he felt his mind being intruded upon.

He closed his eyes so that he wouldn't look at the hypnotic patterns, but a pair of mechanical claws shot out from the pod™ 's walls and grabbed his eyelids, forcing them open.

"Now, listen to my voice." The female voice said. "You wish to join the Eggman Empire."

"J-join...?" Tails asked, but shook his head to get the thought of considering that option out of his mind. "No! I... I refuse!"

"You are deeply ashamed of your past actions against Master Eggman and desire to atone for them." The voice continued, ignoring Tails' defiant comments.

Tails clenched his fists and tried to ignore the voice, but the red beam and the patterns on the screens were making it quite difficult for him to ignore the voice's words. "I... I have n-nothing to... be ashamed of..."

"You are grateful that Master Eggman has decided to give you a second chance."

"A... second c-chance...? I..." Tails winced as he struggled to keep these intrusive thoughts out of his mind, while his eyes began to flicker between bright blue and vivid red. "I... can't... I m-must... not..."

"You are grateful to Master Eggman for ridding you of your free will, for you do not need it anymore. You will be free from all distractions such as thoughts and morality. Focused only on fulfilling your new purpose."

"My... new purpose...?" Suddenly, Tails is starting to think that maybe, he should start listening to the robotic voice. He starts to relax his body as the mechanical claws let his eyelids go and retreat back into the walls, leaving his eyes open as they stopped flickering and are now slowly shifting from blue to red.

"The only thought you must concern yourself with is to obey Master Eggman."

"...Obey... Eggman...?" Tails muttered, now in a monotone voice as he began to accept these new thoughts, eyes half open and now a vivid red, no longer reflecting light. "...Yes... I... must obey... Master Eggman..."

"You no longer accept the name "Miles Prower " or "Tails ". Those names mean nothing to you now."

"Miles Prower... Tails... mean... nothing..." Tails moaned quietly, staring at the spirals on the screens, mind completely empty save for the thoughts the robotic voice filled his head with.

"From now on, you will be identified as EG-092. Only a number like the rest of the Empire's drones."

"Identified as... EG-092..." The fox repeated, listening intently to the voice as his free will slowly erode. "Only... a number... like the rest..."

"Phase 1: Complete." The first robotic voice said. "Commencing Phase 2: Re-Programming." The screens and the red beam were deactivated, leaving the fox in total darkness. A helmet-like device descended from the top of the pod™ and placed itself onto Tails' head, covering it entirely save for his muzzle area. The red LED lights and the visor on the helmet lit up as it got to work on erasing Tails' memories. "You are designated as EG-092."

"I am... designated as... EG-092..." Tails repeated obediently, ready to absorb the new information the voice and helmet will feed him.

"You are a drone of the Eggman Empire."

"I am... a drone... of the Eggman Empire..."

"You obey every order that Master Eggman gives you."

"I obey... every order... Master Eggman gives me..."

"Your purpose in life is to serve Master Eggman."

"My purpose... to serve... Master Eggman..."

"You do not need thoughts to distract you from your purpose."

"I don't... need thoughts..."

"You do not think. You only obey."

"I... don't think... I... obey..."

"You are nothing more than a machine."

"I am... a machine..."

"You are a loyal drone."

"Yes... I am a... loyal drone..." Tails finished repeating the words, now completely devoid of any emotion.

"Phase 2: Complete." The voice droned. "Commencing Phase 3: Uniforming." Tails closed his eyes as the helmet-like device was lifted from his head and retreated to the ceiling. The screens located on the pod™ 's walls opened up and small, spherical devices emerged out of the open slots and floated around the fox until they stopped at his feet.

The devices then projected a red beam of light onto his feet, slowly forming black boots with metallic gray soles, circular plates on both sides of the ankles, and three square plates riding up the shin. The devices continued to project the beams as they floated upward from the boots, forming a form-fitting bodysuit that the boots were attached to, with the bottom half being the same color as the boots, and the top half being red, with the sleeves decorated with zipper-like linings down the arms and Eggman's logo decorated on the chest area, leaving no question on where Tails' new loyalties lie.

The devices moved onto the fox's tails and formed bright red tail sacks with a white tip and the end, attached to the bodysuit. The devices moved towards Tails' hands and formed black, medium-long gloves with yellow cuffs and white fingers before they retreated back to the screens as robotic arms emerged from the floor, carrying two pairs of golden square metal buttons attached to white straps, which the arms attach on the bodysuit's sides, front and back, near the chest area. A gold collar with red LED lights and a small, black screen on the front with the number "092" glowing red was then clipped around his neck and a communicator was inserted into his right ear.

"Phase 3: Complete." the robotic voice announced as the arms retreated back to where they originated from. "Commencing Phase 4: Verification." Tails opened his eyes, now sporting a blank expression.

"What is your name?" the voice asked.

"My... My name is EG-092." Tails replied in an emotionless tone.

"What is your role?"

"My role is to serve the Eggman Empire."

"What is your purpose?"

"My purpose is to obey and carry out Master Eggman's orders, without question or hesitation."

"Who is your enemy?"

"My enemy is... Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Will you swear your loyalty to the Eggman Empire?"

"Yes."

"Will you swear your devotion to Master Eggman's cause?"

"Yes."

"Will you, if necessary, offer your life to ensure that Master Eggman's dream comes to fruition?"

"Yes." Tails replied. "I live to serve the Eggman Empire."

"Phase 4: Complete. Subject has been completely converted." The voice said, as the pod™ slowly opened. Once the door is fully opened, the fox formerly known as Tails took a step out of it. "Welcome to the Eggman Empire."

Once out, the communicator in Tails', or rather EG-092's ear began to buzz. He pressed a button on the small communicator, allowing him to hear his new master's voice.

"EG-092, please report to the control room immediately," Eggman commanded through the earpiece.

"At once, Master Eggman." EG-092 replied and began marching away from the pod™.

---

Eggman sat on his chair, observing a collection of screens displaying the interiors of various Mind Hatcher pods™ and the prisoners inside them, no doubt tracking the progress of the brainwashing. He then heard the door behind him open, so he turned away from the screens and saw EG-092 marching toward him. The new drone stopped a few feet away from Eggman and stood at attention. "EG-092, reporting for duty, sir!" He stated.

"Ah, just the new drone I wanted to see." Eggman replied with a grin. "Tell me, did you enjoy my Mind Hatcher Pod™?"

"Whether I enjoyed the conversion process or not is irrelevant." EG-092 responded emotionlessly. "I am merely a tool for the Eggman Empire."

"Oh, I'm glad to hear it." Eggman chuckled. "Now, let's put you to work! You are to report to Lab L2 and run maintenance on the new badniks I have designed. If you discover any weaknesses in their design, anything that blasted hedgehog could exploit, document it immediately. Once you have completed your assignment, send the documents over to me and await further orders."

"It shall be done, Master Eggman." EG-092 said as he saluted. "All Hail the Eggman Empire!"